Unconventional taste and rough sea ahead

 

I am always excited about trying to eat new sea foods and this time I have a good time to taste soy source seasoned herring at the local restaurant. Now, the fuss over Fukushima contaminated water discharge seemed to be fizzled out. Many seafood manias looked very happy, ignoring such event. However, recently, a new serious issue that may concern seafood lovers alike emerge. 

There have been several fatal fishing boat accidents took place in the Korean waters. On the 9^th this month, a 20-ton Jeju shipping fishing boat sank in the sea of Yokjido Island in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, killing four sailors and missing five. Five days later, a 139-ton fishing boat from Busan that set sail to catch sardines also sank off Yokjido Island, killing four people. During the spring spawning season when fish move to the coast, it is difficult to catch fish in the distant sea, so they often go out to the prohibited area and operate.

All these incidents have something to do with excessive fishing. Fishermen continue such dangerous practices despite the monthly safety inspections and crackdowns by local authorities. Even the basic regulations prohibiting fishing in the event of strong winds, wind warnings, or typhoons are not properly followed.

Experts point out that long-term resource management is necessary as well as safety education. Securing fishery resources can be ultimate solution to problems. Last year, there were more than 2,000 fishing boat accidents.

As it accounts for 70% of all marine accidents, it is necessary to come up with measures to preserve fishermen's safety and fisheries resources. Because of depletion of resources and pollutions in the ocean, sea food related industries think more seriously about aquaculture to raise many species in the farms. However, such efforts also met strong oppositions from environmentalist organizations in Korea and overseas.

I previously posted an article on octopus farming but recently, a ground-breaking bill to prohibit octopus farming has passed the Washington State Senate US with a vote of 29 in favor of the legislation, whilst 20 senators sat in opposition. The bill was advocated for heavily by multiple animal rights NGOs. The organizations repeatedly urged state legislators to support the bill to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee last year, as well as the House Rules Committee and the Senate Rules Committee this year.

The Aquatic Life Institute, which also works with corporations on procurement policies banning the purchase of farmed octopus, stated in a press release that their concerns towards cephalopod farming stem from the nature of octopuses as “highly intelligent and complex animals that suffer greatly in captivity due to their solitary and inquisitive nature.”

 

“Furthermore, there are no approved humane slaughter methods for these animals, and their carnivorous diet makes farming them unsustainable and damaging to the environment. Nitrogen and phosphorus waste would be a product of the octopus farms, as would contamination from fertilizers, algaecides, herbicides, and disinfectants. It is also possible that diseases would spread from the farms to the wild environment, and aquatic animals living in those environments,” they added.

The passing of the bill at the state Senate level represents a significant success for NGOs, but I am not sure if fishermen all around world think same way. This event will influence other states, such as Hawaii and California introduce similar bills which prohibit the farming and sale of certain species of octopus.

Rather than completely banning octopus farming, at least in Korea, I recommend investing to conduct R&D to develop sustainable methods for aquaculture. Such efforts may mitigate depletion of fishery resources. At the same time, prevention of over-fishing and further pollution of oceans are always important.